Archive of Our Own

Friday
Harvey sat nursing his Scotch, his fifth or was it sixth of the night? He lost count after Mike told him that he and Rachel were leaving New York.

He should be home by now, but his body was bone tired, the stressful trip to Chicago to help Jessica, the uncertainty of what was next at the firm, the disaster of a relationship he foolishly attempted with Paula, the strain of his most important relationship ever with Donna were all weighing on him.

Donna. He almost lost his ability to speak when he saw her in that dress tonight. She always looked perfect, but tonight, she looked exceptional, his hand still tingled where it had lay against her bare back as they danced. He flexed his fingers now, itching to dance just one more song.

“What are you still doing here?” the woman he was just fantasizing about dancing with now appeared in front of him.

She was no longer in the gorgeous dress, but rather a pair of flowy black pants and a soft blue sweater that now replaced her skin as the thing his fingers wanted to touch. Her hair was undone and loose curls fell around her face, maybe he wanted to touch those more.

“Too tired to move,” he admitted.

“Too tired or too drunk?” she smirked and he handed her his half-finished drink and smiled when she didn’t hesitate to drink it.

“I’m not drunk, I’m just weary,” he gave her a sad smile, and she tilted her head to consider him.

“Oh good, you are both in the same place,” Robert approached with 2 envelopes in his hand.

“Are those termination letters? Because that will really dictate whether or not I get another drink,” Harvey chuckled.

“No, I imagine the firm without the two of you would be pretty dull. These are from Rachel and Mike, they asked me to give them to you and to excuse you both from work on Monday,” Robert explained.

“What’s going on?” Harvey sat up and reached out to take the envelope; his name scrawled in Rachel’s handwriting across the front.

“Honestly, I have no idea. My daughter got married and is moving across the country, so I just agreed to whatever she asked,” Robert handed Donna her envelope.

Harvey and Donna looked at each other with both confusion and intrigue on their faces.

“This is a plane ticket to Vegas, leaving in 2 hours,” Donna said surprised.

“Mine too,” Harvey looked up.

“Apparently there is a car waiting for you, your bags are in it,” Robert said.

“My bag has a couple things in it there is no way I can go away for a long weekend with that bag,” Donna said as she thought about the stuff she had packed to stay with Rachel the night before the wedding and to get ready today.

“My suitcase has a little more in it, but still,” Harvey thought of the bag he had left with the wedding planner when he swooped in right before the wedding started.

“I have no idea; I just know that Rachel and Mike wanted to do something for both of you for all you did for them and this is apparently it. You come back Monday and I expect to see you at the firm on Tuesday,” he nodded at them. “And thank you, Donna, for throwing the most unbelievable wedding. Rachel loved every moment.”

“She deserved it,” Donna smiled at the man who was soon to be their new partner.

“Have fun in Vegas, remember, the house always wins,” Robert winked and turned to leave.

“We can’t do this, right?” Donna held up the ticket.

“Why not? Did you have plans this weekend?” Harvey asked.

“No, but it’s insane to just get on a plane with hardly anything and no idea where we are going.”

“I’m sure Rachel thought of everything and it’s Vegas; we can go shopping. Get you a little bikini to wear by the pool,” he took the Scotch back and tried to hide his smirk behind the rim of the glass.

“I look very good in a bikini, thank you very much,” she thought he was teasing her.

“I have absolutely no doubt that that is true. Come on, there’s a car waiting,” he finished the Scotch and stood up, offered her his arm.

“You’re going to fly in your tux?” she asked as they headed out.

“I’ll take off the tie,” he shrugged.

Harvey upgraded them to first class at the counter, and they checked Donna’s bag as there was no way they were getting through security with all her lotions and potions. Donna bought a paperback and some snacks at the Hudson News near the first-class lounge and soon enough they were boarding their flight. They each took a glass of champagne from the flight attendant as they settled into their seats.

“To Mike and Rachel,” Harvey held his glass up and Donna suddenly burst into tears.

“Sorry,” she sniffled and tried to recover enough to clink her glass to his.

“Hey, it’s OK,” Harvey reached up and tucked a stray curl behind her ear, “I know. It sucks that they are leaving.”

Without even thinking about it, Donna put her head on his shoulder and curled one arm around his waist, an awkward hug in the large airplane seats.

“Rachel’s practically my best friend,” she muttered sadly.

“Practically?” Harvey puzzled.

“I mean technically, if we are keeping score and all, you’re my best friend, Harvey,” she looked up at him, her lashes shiny with tears.

“I am?” he asked. “Even after everything.”

The everything came flooding back to them both: the other time, trying to forget the other time, Coastal Motors, Stephen Huntley, Liberty Rail, Donna working for Louis, Harvey dating his therapist, Donna kissing him knowing he was dating his therapist.

“Maybe because of everything,” she said as the flight attendant came and took away their glasses and told them to prepare for takeoff.

Once the plane was off the ground and Harvey reclined his seat a bit, closing his eyes for a second, he said quietly, “you’re my best friend too.”

Donna just smiled, reaching over to curl her hand around his on the arm rest as she read her book.

They slept a bit on the overnight flight, but due to the time change it was only 3:00 am when they landed. As they approached baggage claim to get Donna’s bag, they saw a man with a sign that said “Specter & Paulsen” on it. There had been nothing in the envelope but the ticket, so apparently this was the next piece of the puzzle.

“I’ll grab my bag,” Donna said as she pointed the man out to Harvey who went over to introduce himself.

They stowed their meager luggage in the trunk of the black Lexus that looked just like Ray’s car and Harvey let Donna slide in ahead of him.

“Where are we going?” she asked, it was a little weird to be arriving more than halfway across the country at 3:00 in the morning with no idea where they were going.

“The Bellagio, we are already checked into the Penthouse Suite,” Harvey held out the key packet the driver gave him while Donna was getting her bag.

“We’re sharing a room?” she looked confused.

“It’s a suite, I am sure it is huge,” Harvey said, it was Vegas after all.

Harvey wasn’t wrong, it was huge. It was far bigger than either of their places in New York. They started out in a gigantic sunken living room with a tv the size of some of the screens in Times Square over a huge fireplace, off of that was a dining room with seating for 12 and a kitchen Marcus would have taken up shop in it was so elaborate.

Then they decided to split up and inventory the rest of the rooms.

“There’s a gym!” Harvey yelled.

“I found a game room with a pool table!” Donna answered back.

“An office with a wall of monitors!” Harvey called but Donna didn’t hear him because she was in a bathroom out of a fantasy.

“Donna!” Harvey called having lost her.

“In here!” her voice echoed off all the marble tile.

“Wow,” Harvey looked at the huge sunken tub and the glass enclosed shower.

“I think that’s,” Donna opened a wooden door, “yep, a sauna.”

“My first apartment in New York was not this big,” Harvey looked around with wonder, and he was a man very accustomed to luxury these days.

The bathroom in question was off a bedroom.

“You can have this bedroom,” Harvey offered as they walked into the big room with a wall of windows overlooking the desert.

“Harvey, this is the only bedroom I’ve found,” Donna worried her bottom lip.

“Can’t be, there are like 8 rooms, there has to be another bedroom,” Harvey looked around.

“I didn’t see one,” Donna flopped back on the giant bed.

“I can sleep in the living room, those couches looked comfortable,” Harvey ran a hand over his tired face.

“Don’t be ridiculous, this bed is big enough for 6 people,” Donna leaned up on her elbows and clocked the leer on his face. “We are not inviting four other people to join us,” she laughed exhausted.

“I have been in 3 different time zones in the past 24 hours,” he sighed and his shoulders slumped with his own exhaustion, “I really just want to sleep.”

“Go grab our bags and we’ll figure this out,” she said as she flopped back on the bed again.

Harvey let Donna go first in the bathroom and when she emerged, washed up and changed into a tank top and pair of tiny shorts, he swallowed hard before asking if she minded if he showered.

“No, take your time,” she smiled at him as she rubbed lotion onto her arms.

Harvey fiddled with the multiple controls for the giant shower and let it get good and hot before stepping in and instantly moaning at how it eased his aching body. He wasn’t just tired physically; he needed this break more than he would ever admit. Whatever Mike and Rachel were thinking of by sending him and Donna away together, he needed it. The high-end bath products in the shower were nice, and Harvey cleaned up and dried off, brushing his teeth and slipping into a pair of pajama pants and a clean tee shirt, grateful for his propensity to overpack.

He expected Donna to be asleep when he came out, he was extra quiet, being sure to turn off the bathroom light before he opened the door, but he needn’t have bothered as she was sitting up in bed reading the book she bought at the airport.

Harvey had no idea how Donna slept these days, despite his frequent jokes about thinking about it. He assumed she picked her side of the bed, which was oddly not his side of the bed.

“This, OK?” she pointed to her side of the bed and he nodded.

“Yeah, it’s great, thanks for sharing, Donna. We can work it out tomorrow,” he smiled shyly at her before sliding into the bed.

There was a ton of space between them, but somehow the bed already smelled like Donna, jasmine and a hint of something deeper, muskier that had always piqued his desire. He checked his phone, his text to Mike unanswered, but it was his wedding night after all. He plugged in the charger and turned off the light on his side.

“Will this bother you?” Donna indicated her own reading light.

“I think you could host a rave in here right now and I could still sleep,” he laughed as he settled down and rolled on his side away from Donna.

She looked over the top of her book to his broad shoulders in the thin white undershirt he had on, he was so close and so far away at the same time. It had always been like that with them.

Donna read another chapter or two and then finally felt settled down enough to sleep just as the sun was rising outside the bedroom windows.

Saturday
When she woke, Donna was very confused. Her nose was pushed against something both soft and hard and she had no idea where she was or what time it was, her legs were tangled too, and she felt an odd weight across her hip.

Slowly, very slowly it all came back to her. She was in bed in Las Vegas with Harvey and somehow in the middle of the morning they had met each other halfway. Her face was pressed against his chest, her nose between two very well-defined pecs, his arm around her waist and their legs a twisted mess under the covers. Without moving too much, she shifted her eyes up to see Harvey looking right back at her.

She pushed back like she had been electrocuted.

“Sorry,” she brushed her messy hair off her face.

“It’s OK,” he smiled peacefully, “what time is it?”

She looked at her phone on her bedside table, “Just after 11:00, we didn’t sleep that much.”

“Best sleep I’ve had in a long time,” Harvey stretched and Donna tried not to focus on the bare skin he revealed when his shirt rode up.

“Probably shouldn’t sleep any later or we won’t sleep tonight.”

“We’re in Vegas, Donna, if New York is the city that never sleeps, Vegas is the city that sleeps during the day. Hungry?” he asked.

“Starving actually,” she realized she had eaten almost nothing at the wedding and picked at her airplane food.

“I’ll order breakfast,” he got out of bed and Donna smiled at his messy hair.

Donna headed for the bathroom and freshened up, but Harvey was still gone when she got back in bed. He was gone so long she started to wonder if he was lost in the suite somewhere between the gym and the pool table, but finally he strolled in.

“OK, breakfast will be here in about 20 minutes. I talked to the front desk, there is a conference at the hotel, they have nothing else open tonight, but they could get us a second room for Sunday night?” he winced awaiting her reaction.

“Harvey, this is fine, we can manage,” she indicated the giant bed.

“I don’t know, you were all over me when I woke up,” he teased and it stung at first, so soon after his anger about her kissing him.

“I can sleep on the couch, I’m shorter,” she went to get up.

“Donna, I’m kidding, it’s fine, really,” he reassured her.

“OK,” she sat back down.

“I put my Amex on the room for anything you need. There is a literal mall downstairs, so as long as you have something to wear out of here, we can go pick out some things for the rest of the weekend. Anything you want, put it on the room,” he extended his platinum olive branch and she smiled.

“Thank you.”

A doorbell rang and Harvey turned to retrieve their breakfast. He wheeled the cart to Donna’s side of the bed and pulled up a chair that was by the window to sit at it like a table. As they traded plates and assembled their coffee Harvey grinned.

“I also bought into a high stakes poker game tonight, want to watch me make a mint?”

“Can I be your lucky charm?”

“Always have been,” he said without hesitation and focused on his breakfast.

Harvey didn’t love shopping, he liked nice things and he liked having nice things, but shopping was not his favorite, unless he was with Donna. They traipsed in and out of store after store with Donna’s running commentary keeping him just on the edge of hysterics. They picked up bathing suits to sit by the pool later at Gucci and a couple casual things at Banana Republic.

“I need something sharp for the poker game, and you should get all glammed up,” Harvey said as he steered them into Prada. “I made a fancy dinner reservation.”

“Harvey, this is Prada,” she says slowly.

“I know, I read the sign on the way in,” he grinned. “Splurge, Donna!”

They split up and Harvey found a clerk and rattled off his measurements; he was done in 30 minutes. After another 20 he got a text from Donna to come to the women’s dressing rooms. As he approached, a female attendant looked at him as if he was in the wrong place.

“I’m looking for the beautiful redhead,” he said effortlessly as if that was how he always referred to Donna.

“Right this way,” she led him down a dimly lit hallway and knocked on a door.

Donna popped her head out, saw Harvey and circled her fingers around his wrist, tugging him inside and thanking the attendant.

When Harvey got his wits about him, he quickly lost them again as Donna stood in front of him in the hottest thing he had ever seen.

“We are buying that. Does it come in other colors? We are buying those too,” he said emphatically.

“Harvey, I wouldn’t have even shown you this, because it is ridiculously expensive, but Jesus is it pretty,” she looked back into the full-length mirror and saw the look on his face behind her and tried to swallow down what it might mean.

“Donna, that dress was made to be on your body, I don’t care what it costs. What does it cost?” he was genuinely curious.

“Ten thousand dollars,” she said quietly.

“Sold, to the stunning redhead,” he smiled as he swallowed the end of his thought which was ‘with the smoking hot body’.

“It’s special, right?” she turned sideways and he had to swallow when he saw the sideview, her curves filling out the seemingly simple black sequined dress flawlessly.

“You’re special,” he said with a tip of his chin.

Donna sent Harvey back to the room with the bags before she made one more stop and then they changed into their new bathing suits and headed for the pool, finding a perfect shady spot for Donna. It was so much warmer than back home, and Harvey loved the dry heat of the desert.

Just after they ordered some cocktails and a snack, Harvey’s phone chimed an incoming Facetime from Mike.

Harvey covered his eyes and answered it.

“Aren’t you on your honeymoon?” he answered with a cringe.

“Yet you are the one with no shirt on,” Mike laughed.

“Thank you, guys,” Donna leaned over, a lot of her skin touching a lot of Harvey’s skin.

“You deserve it!” Rachel leaned into the call. “Have so much fun.”

“We just got down to the pool, it is great,” Harvey smiled at the couple.

“We wanted to surprise you with something fun to buffer the news we dropped on you at the wedding,” Mike admitted.

“This is like buying a kid a puppy because you are moving in the middle of the school year and leaving all his friends behind,” Donna pursed her lips in faux annoyance.

“It is the Donna and Harvey equivalent of that, yes. Seriously though, we owe you guys way more than a trip. We owe you everything,” Mike said and Harvey just nodded and Donna turned her face into his arm to stop from crying.

“Hey,” Harvey cleared his throat and tried to lighten the mood, “did you know the room you booked us only has one bed?”

“What’s that? You’re breaking up…bad connection…bye!” Mike hung up.

“Wuss,” Harvey accused and Donna laughed.

“They look happy,” she leaned back in her chair and Harvey turned to her, she had raised her arms up over her head and her body in the green Gucci bikini almost short circuited his brain. There was a gold ring holding the 2 cups of the top together and he wanted nothing more than to curl his finger through it and pull her close.

Before he could act on his thoughts, their server arrived with drinks and a platter of cheese and hummus and things that looked delectable. Not as delectable as Donna though. Harvey’s phone buzzed again, a text from Mike now.

“You should do something for yourself for once”

Harvey knew what he meant, he knew Mike could see through every excuse he had ever given about why he and Donna weren’t more.

“Who’s that?” Donna asked as she sipped her mojito.

“Nothing important,” he smiled at her and leaned back in the lounge chair.

Harvey had almost fallen asleep when he heard Donna get up. He cracked an eye and watched her walk to the shallow end of the pool and dip a toe in, before walking gracefully down the steps into the aquamarine water. She walked a little deeper and then bounced up on her toes and dove under, her red hair streaming behind her before coming up on the other side.

It didn’t take 5 minutes for a guy to approach her. Over the more than 10 years Harvey has known Donna, he’s watched hundreds of men hit on her. He knows her routine, how she kind of lures them in and then shoots them down with practiced ease. This guy does not seem to be getting the hint though.

Harvey stands up and heads for the pool, not unnoticed by others himself, but he only has eyes for Donna. When he emerges from under the water next to her, he shakes his wet hair on her and she laughs.

“Nice,” she tilts her head at him, so beautifully handsome when he is relaxed. It is a rare site lately.

“Water feels nice,” he leaned his elbows back on the lip of the pool and squinted into the sun. “You have enough sunscreen on?”

“I am coated in the stuff,” she assured him and he nodded.

They swam and floated until they were pruney and then headed back to their chairs where Harvey did fall asleep while Donna read. She roused him with a poke of her toe to his calf when they had to think about getting ready for dinner.

The suite may have only had one bedroom, but it had 2.5 bathrooms, so Harvey took all his stuff to the other full bath and left Donna in the palatial bathroom. They agreed to meet in the living room for a cocktail at 7:30.

That gave Donna almost 2 hours to enjoy the bathroom of her dreams. She stretched out in the sauna for a while, before drawing a bath and then taking the most complicated shower she had ever had.

Donna’s last stop while shopping earlier was to buy some lingerie to go with the extravagant dress Harvey bought her.

Harvey buying extravagant things for Donna was not new. Donna also knew it was not normal the amount of money he lavished on her, but he never made a big deal about it, and she knew he thought of her as his partner in all his successes. She made more money than any secretary at the firm before her promotion to COO and she found out that was also because of Harvey augmenting what the firm would pay her.

She never felt bought though, she felt respected and appreciated. Harvey had his moments, he could be as callous as the next guy, but for the most part Donna felt respected and appreciated even when he wasn’t showering her with gifts.

She shook herself out of her thoughts and went about making herself up in a way Harvey rarely saw her. She scrunched her hair dry in wild waves, her natural curl tamed slightly by a lot of product. Then she did her eye make-up darker and smokier than normal before slipping on the La Perla black set that she paid for herself, never spending Harvey’s money on anything he wasn’t going to see, and the Prada dress and shiny black patent leather Jimmy Choos.

Donna walked out into the bedroom to get the full effect in the floor-length mirror. She finished it off with a bright red lip, putting the lip stick, her phone and room key in a black clutch. It was 7:32.

When she got to the living room, Harvey had his back to her standing by a well-stocked bar. He was wearing dove gray slacks that fit him to perfection, his ass quite possibly the most beautiful she had ever seen on a human man, and a black shirt tucked in with the sleaves rolled to mid forearm.

He must have heard her heels as he asked without turning if she wanted a Macallen or a martini.

“Ooo, I’ll have a martini please, if we have all the stuff?” she dropped her clutch on the side table and approached him easily clocking his reaction to her glam look.

“Jesus, Donna,” he swallowed the words as he overpoured his Scotch.

“Too much?” she asked spinning around in the dress he would have mortgaged his condo to buy if necessary.

“Not for Vegas,” he tried to reign himself in.

Donna was not unaffected herself as he had the top few buttons of the black shirt undone, his skin even more golden after their time in the pool.

“You look good too, confident, ready to win big tonight,” she smiled at him and he knew she meant at poker, but he wondered what else he might finally be able to win at.

He nodded at her confidence in him and went to work making her the perfect gin martini with a twist of lemon.

“Oh god,” she moaned after the first sip and Harvey had to look away from her elegant neck as she swallowed the cold cocktail.

Donna hopped up to sit on the bar, crossing her long bare legs, her sequined dress landing mid-thigh was shorter than most things Donna wore to firm events and while he had certainly seen her legs over the years, he forgot just how spectacular they were. He had seen them a lot in the past 12 hours.

“Did you use everything in that bathroom?” he asked with a grin as he sipped his whiskey.

“I did,” she nodded. “We could put our bathing suits on and hang out in the tub; there is room for a party in there.”

“If I win tonight, we can fill it with champagne and do that,” he suggested.

“You really can come up with insane ways to spend your riches,” she indicated her get up.

“If that’s insane, I do not ever want to be sane again,” it sounded like a joke, but he said it so sincerely it sent a shiver through her.

A little before 8:00 they knocked back the end of their drinks and headed down to dinner, Harvey offering Donna his arm which she appreciated in the new heels.

Their table was placed such that it felt intimate, but everyone in the room could see the gorgeous couple that just walked into the high-end steakhouse. Another round of drinks quickly ordered and an order of oysters Rockefeller as Donna was already feeling the gin from the first drink.

Donna crossed her legs under the small table and the toe of her new shoe grazed Harvey’s calf.

“Sorry,” she blushed and went to shift her foot, but Harvey reached down on instinct and curled his fingers around her bare ankle.

“It’s fine,” he let go as soon as he realized what he did, but his fingers left heat in their wake. Donna drank her second martini faster than she should have.

Dinner was delicious and fun, the pair matching wits and alcohol until it was time to head to the room for the poker game.

“How high are the stakes tonight?” Donna asked and Harvey couldn’t help but read a double meaning in her words, but he answered her direct question.

“Hundred grand buy-in,” he said which stopped her in mid stride and with the alcohol in their systems Harvey had to stutter step to not pull her off balance.

“That’s a lot of money,” Donna’s eyes were wide.

“It’s just money, besides I’m not gonna lose,” he winked at her and she nodded, eyes still wide.

The crowd for the game was fun. Harvey was on the younger side of the player pool and Donna was somehow on the older side of the ladies watching. It was definitely a bit of a gender dynamic, all men around the table and women at the bar, but Donna ordered another martini and leaned back to watch Harvey in one of his many elements.

Harvey Specter was a man of many talents, with more good looks and intelligence than most, and an ease in his own skin that was disarming. Harvey often seemed like he wasn’t trying, which made his opponents underestimate him, in the courtroom, in a boxing ring and at a poker table.

He folded a hand that Donna knew was good enough, but he wanted to show vulnerability. He called when he could’ve raised and played humble when he wound up taking the pot. He drank as much or more as some of the other players and Donna saw his eyes go a little soft and glassy, but he had enough control to take the last hand and the bulk of the chips on the table.

His manner of play had won him some admirers, even amongst the men he took money from. It was clear no one in that room was going to miss their hundred grand and Harvey had given them a good enough show to earn the substantial pot.

“Which one is yours?” an older fellow in a big cowboy hat asked as he gestured towards the bar.

“The redhead,” Harvey said, not one to take ownership of another human so easily, but Donna was his even if he might not be hers these days.

The guy in the hat whistled, “you really are one lucky son of a bitch.”

“I really am,” Harvey smiled and nodded at Donna, who slipped from her stool and needed a second to get her legs under her before she walked over and put her hands on Harvey’s shoulders.

“Looks like you covered our spending spree today,” she smirked.

“And then some,” he nodded.

“You two need some champagne to celebrate,” cowboy hat said and ordered a bottle of Cristal on his tab for the happy couple.

One of the great indulgences of Vegas was wandering around anywhere you wanted with alcohol. After saying farewell to the poker crew and settling up with the dealer, tipping him generously, Harvey and Donna wandered the casinos, sharing the bottle of champagne that neither of them needed at this point.

They got to a lighted arch, the sparkly white light making Donna’s sequined dress shimmer, and Harvey stopped and turned her to face him.

“You were quite the lucky charm tonight,” he grinned at her, his voice slow and slippery with booze.

“How much did you win exactly?” she was dying to know, having lost track of the betting early on.

“Five hundred and forty-seven thousand dollars,” he said, awe in his own voice.

“Holy shit, Harvey,” Donna beamed and then he kissed her.

Sunday
Donna woke, her head pounding and her mouth sour and dry. She wasn’t tangled in Harvey this morning though, he was almost hanging off his side of the bed his clothes still on. Donna looked down at herself, and she had slept in a $10,000 dress, the light streaming in the windows making it wink with refracted sunshine.

She reached up to push her messy hair off her face and the light caught something else, a giant diamond on Donna’s left hand.

All of a sudden her stomach lurched as she remembered what happened after Harvey kissed her. First, he kissed her again and then she kissed him and then someone whistled and said they should get a room and then they giggled and as she was dragging him towards the elevator, he changed course and dragged her to the wedding chapel.

“Harvey?” she whispered harshly now, not wanting to startle him, but needing him to confirm she was remembering everything properly.

“Mmmmm,” Harvey hummed and went to roll the wrong way and managed to catch himself before he fell on the floor. “What? Huh?” he twisted himself and sat up, his shirt more undone than not.

“Harvey,” she said again and he looked at her and she noticed a smear of her red lipstick on his neck and it made her stomach flip in both a good way and a bad way, “do you remember last night?”

His first thought was that they had sex, which while not the worst situation in the world, would be sad since he didn’t seem to remember it. They were both still fully dressed though. He touched his lips which remembered kissing, lots of kissing. He remembered winning the poker game and the kissing and the…he looked down at his hand.

“We got married,” he said it as a statement but the look on his face held a question.

“We did,” she held up the gorgeous diamond.

“OK, ok,” he nodded.

“What now?” she looked a little terrified and that made him sad.

According to the clock it was only 8:00 am.

“Right now, we clean up and sleep a little more. I really need to brush my teeth,” he ran his tongue over his front teeth.

Donna just nodded and headed to the bathroom. He gave her a headstart, but she didn’t close the door, so when he heard the toilet flush he followed.

She handed him his toothbrush, and they brushed in companionable silence at the double sink. Donna then washed off the smeared eye make-up and corralled her hair into a messy bun.

Without thinking she slipped the straps of the dress off and soon Harvey was looking at her reflection in the mirror as she stood there in the fancy black underwear she bought. He quickly averted his gaze.

“I mean, we’re married now,” Donna teased and was sure he watched as she headed back to the bed.

Harvey washed up and crawled into the bed in just his boxer briefs, unsure if Donna had fallen asleep or was just avoiding him. Somehow, he managed to fall back to sleep.

The next time Donna woke, she was in Harvey’s arms again, this time with hardly any fabric between them and a very obvious erection pressed to her stomach. She couldn’t stop herself from pressing a little closer and she startled when Harvey opened his eyes, confused for a second he stared at her, everything on his face. And this time, she kissed him.

“Donna?” he said between kisses, his hands on her bare sides, his leg slotted between both of hers as she managed to pull him even closer.

“Yes, Harvey, please god yes,” she pulled him on top of her and felt him settle against her like he had always belonged there.

He kissed her over and over, pulling back and diving in with a rhythm that matched his hips as he drove her insane.

“More,” she keened as she arched up looking for the friction she needed.

“Can I?” he asked as he found the clasp of her bra.

“Yeah,” she said softly, her fingers in his hair. “Yeah,” she repeated higher and drawn out as his mouth found a nipple and teased perfectly.

It was all shocking and not at the same time. They had come so close so many times over the years to breaking Donna’s rule. Running right up to the line and then backing off when one of them dared to push their limits. It seemed inevitable that they would finally succumb to a decade’s worth of desire.

Harvey kissed his way down her stomach, the stubble on his face tickling and enflaming as he went. They were well past the line, but he still glanced up before he took off her underwear, his eyes asking and her lips smiling as she nodded her consent.

In minutes she was arched off the bed, Harvey’s name repeated over and over as he didn’t let up, coaxing a second orgasm from her before he even got his boxers off.

“Can we?” he was asking about protection and Donna nodded, she knew him better than anyone and knew he wouldn’t ever put her at risk, so knowing she was covered too she smiled again as he filled her so deeply and fully she had realized she had never been this satisfied since the last time he was inside her.

“Harvey, god,” she wrapped her legs around him, wanting him somehow closer still and he flipped them so she could set the pace.

Having already come she started slowly, enflaming him with each long stroke, circling perfectly and squeezing just right.

“Dddddonna,” he ground out as she switched to a shorter grinding motion that went right to his balls.

“Fuck,” she gasped as he countered her thrusts with his own, “more.”

He sat up so he could change the angle and so he could kiss her again, because he really wanted to kiss her again. Donna’s tight nipples were pressed against the smattering of hair on his chest and it felt amazing.

She ripped her mouth away for a second to breathe and ground out his name as she came again and he was gone, thrusting up until he was completely spent and Donna fell off to the side one arm over her eyes and the other across her stomach that was lifting and falling as she tried to get air back to her lungs.

Harvey was lost in his head, worried that he had just ruined everything by doing the one thing he wanted for over a decade. He tried not to look at her, afraid eye contact would break whatever spell they were under, but he also wanted to make sure she was ok.

He pulled up the sheet as the cool air hit their sweaty skin and their adrenaline dipped. He slipped an arm under her and spooned up behind her, kissed her sweaty temple.

“You, ok?” he whispered, scared.

She froze for a second and realized her silence was probably killing him.

“Yeah, Harvey, yeah,” she turned her head back enough to catch his lips with her own and kissed him tenderly.

She took the hand he had tentatively on her hip and pulled it around her, kissed his knuckles.

“Sleep some more,” she encouraged as she melted back against him.

When Donna woke next, she had rolled on her back and Harvey was blanketed over her, his face in her neck. He was so beautiful it almost took her breath away, his face still and peaceful in sleep.

“Oh, Harvey, what are we going to do?” she kissed the top of his head and fell back to sleep.

The next time she woke it was to the clink of dishes, she was in the center of the giant bed alone, but Harvey was right next to it arranging a room service tray.

“I, um, wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I got a lot,” he pointed at the dresser which had a few more dishes on it.

“Please tell me a good portion of that is fried,” she sat up, the bun she had started with earlier flopping dramatically to one side.

“Hungover?” he grinned.

“A little,” she admitted.

“Drink this,” he handed her some fancy bottled electrolyte water and she drank greedily.

“Thank you,” she slurped and wiped at the water that dribbled on the sheets.

He handed her a plate piled high with fries and a fried chicken sandwich that made her moan with the first bite. He tried to focus on his burger as he uncovered another plate with buffalo cauliflower on it.

“Gimme,” she made grabby hands and he shared the spicy app with her with a smile.

“I love hungry Donna,” he chuckled and then froze as she was hungry in a different way earlier.

“I bet you do,” she said with a blush.

“Remember the time we were working on the Hallston case at the DA’s office?” he shifted the conversation to safer ground.

“The time you made me stay for 60 straight hours?”

“I told you you could leave,” he countered.

“With the saddest puppy dog face ever, there was no way I could have left you alone,” she tossed a fry at him.

“You inhaled two large subs, like in record time,” he seemed genuinely impressed.

“It was hour 37 without a break. If I didn’t remind you we needed food, Bertha would have found two skeletons in your office come Monday morning.”

“I miss working that closely with you,” he said and quickly schooled his features. “You are excellent at your current job, but it was different when we were young dumb and broke.”

“I’ve learned so much from you, Harvey. You never got frustrated with my questions; you would geek out explaining precedent to me. I could probably pass the bar,” she laughed.

“I have no doubt you could, but if you want to be a lawyer, please go to law school,” he grinned.

“Sure, you’d bend the rules for Mike,” she tossed another fry.

“I would never want you in the line of fire like that, Donna. Trust me, once was more than enough,” he shook his head.

“Things with Mike worked out,” she pointed out.

“Oh, I know. I didn’t mean that. I mean I don’t want you taking unnecessary chances again, Liberty Rail was more than I could handle,” he looked up at her and she saw it, the same look she saw in her apartment after Harvey fixed that situation, the night he said he loved her.

“What happens now?” she asked nervously.

“Dessert? Bath? Dessert in the bath?” he offered.

“You know that isn’t what I mean,” she looked down at the ring on her hand.

“How about we discuss that when we get home?” he said with an arched eyebrow.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, let’s enjoy the rest of the trip.”

Donna nodded, unsure if Harvey was not freaking out because he had already figured out what to do or because he didn’t want to think about it at all, but she was too tired to deal with it either.

“Bath first, then dessert,” Donna decided for them.

Harvey just nodded as he finished his fries.

“You go on ahead,” Donna suggested and Harvey tilted his head at her. “I feel very naked in broad daylight here,” she tucked the sheet a little tighter.

“You do realize I saw it all earlier,” he stood from the chair he was in and approached her side of the bed. “Tasted it all earlier.”

“Harvey,” she gave him her patented Donna look, but there was color in her cheeks, embarrassment or desire or both.

“Donna,” he put his knee on the mattress and leaned into her space, “we’re married now.”

It was unclear who kissed who this time, but it was a good hour later before they made it to the bathtub and the sun was going down by the time they got to dessert.

“You want to go out?” Harvey murmured later, Donna soft and supple in his arms.

They were back in the bed, it was almost 11:00.

“Do you?” she looked up at him, and his eyes were warm and his smile lazy in a way she might not have seen for years.

“No,” he said simply as he continued to play with her hair.

Donna leaned up and kissed him, not to start anything more, but just because she had gotten used to it very quickly.

“Harvey,” she said as their lips parted.

“Not tonight,” he ran his thumb along her cheek as he pulled her in for another kiss.

Monday
Harvey woke alone on Monday morning. He knew Donna had been in the bed around 4:00 am when a simple shift in position had woken them both and sent them right back into each others arms.

Slow sleepy sex that made them both sigh and shudder and Harvey came so close to declaring his undying love that he had to kiss her to keep the words in.

He had lost track of how much sex they had managed in less than 24 hours. His body ached in the most delicious ways and he took advantage of the empty bed to stretch, his feet finding the black lace La Perla bra under the covers.

Donna appeared in one of Harvey’s dress shirts that she must have nicked from his suitcase, carrying two cups of coffee.

“You’re up,” she stopped and looked a little worried.

“I had a dream like this once,” Harvey muttered.

“I needed a little more fabric than my pajamas, I was cold,” she came back to the bed and curled her legs under her as she handed him a cup of coffee. “Thought we might get dressed and have breakfast outside, enjoy the weather a bit before we leave.”

“Sure,” he sipped the coffee and sat up against the headboard.

As he looked over, he caught his monogram on the cuff of his shirt as Donna sipped her coffee, his initials HRS kind of looked like it said ‘hers’ and it might as well. He was hers in every way that mattered.

Donna’s phone buzzed an incoming Facetime call from Rachel.

“Oh God, I can’t answer,” Donna’s eyes went wide.

“You’re dressed, kind of,” Harvey laughed.

“In your shirt and nothing else,” Donna replied as she declined the call like her phone might explode.

A few seconds later, Harvey’s phone rang.

“I’m less dressed,” he smirked.

‘Just running down to breakfast, will call when we’re getting ready to head to airport.’

Donna shot off a quick text to hopefully appease their meddlesome friends.

“We owe them a big thank you,” Harvey said as he finished his coffee and stood up, stretching again, his naked back a work of literal art.

“Hmmm?” Donna asked, distracted by his back.

“I don’t know if they meant for this to happen or not, but it did and I am glad it did. How about a shower?” he headed for the bathroom, and she was 2 steps behind him.

It was time to check out by the time they were dressed, so they stowed their bags with the bellman and had lunch outside instead of breakfast.

Donna had on a raspberry pink sundress she had bought on Saturday; it was gauzy and flowy yet fit her perfectly. Harvey had on shorts and a polo shirt, a very casual look for him that Donna found she liked a lot.

“Flight’s on time. I upgraded us again,” Harvey looked at his phone.

“Thank you,” Donna smiled.

“It’s too long a flight to sit in coach,” he wrinkled his nose. “I don’t mind it when I fly up to Boston or down to DC, but anything over 2 hours, I get antsy.”

“I appreciate you upgrading me too,” she shrugged.

“Think I’m going to leave my wife in coach?” he scoffed and they both froze for a second, it was the first time he had used the W word and although they had both kept their rings on, they had not discussed it in any depth yet.

Since they had checked out, Harvey had to pay their lunch bill directly and when he opened his wallet he found a piece of paper folded and wedged in there.

“What’s that?” Donna asked as Harvey smoothed it out.

“Our marriage license,” he swallowed thickly. There in black and white was legal proof that Harvey Reginald Specter was married to Donna Roberta Paulsen.

“Oh good, I assume we’ll need that to get it annulled,” she said quietly.

“Is that what you want?” Harvey asked just as quietly.

“Well, I don’t want to divorce you. It would be neater, right? Legally?” she asked and he nodded suddenly unable to form words.

Donna took his silence for acceptance and carried on.

“I know on TV shows and stuff you can’t get an annulment if you had sex, but that’s not true right?”

He nodded again.

“I’ll let you take care of it when we’re home,” she shrugged like it was simple task.

Harvey signed the credit card slip for their lunch and his phone buzzed.

“Car is here,” he ground out the three words.

“Thanks for lunch,” she smiled and grabbed her purse.

Harvey tipped the bellman as he loaded their bags in the trunk and soon they were headed off the strip back to the airport.

Donna stared out the window at the landscape that was so different from back home as her mind just kept looping over every tender look and touch she and Harvey had shared, not just since they woke up married, but even before. She wasn’t imagining it, they were in love, but married too? She knew Harvey had a skewed view of marriage because of his parents and she figured he would want to handle the annulment right away. When it was done, they could talk about what was next.

Donna was sure of one thing though, there was no way she was going to be able to put Vegas out of her mind and pretend it never happened.

Tuesday
Harvey woke up alone. For a minute he thought Donna might walk into his bedroom in his shirt with coffee like the day before or in his dreams, but he was truly alone.

The driver had asked where they wanted to go when they got back to JFK last night and Donna logically gave her address first and then Harvey’s based on location and the fact that they did not live together even though they were married.

Married.

Harvey looked at the ring on his finger and tried not to get nauseous at how nonchalantly Donna asked about an annulment. He slipped the ring off his finger before he left for work, shocked by how much he missed its presence.

When he got to the office, Donna was already there, back in her armor, no ring and no more crazy curls in her hair as if nothing had happened.

“The Haverford contract negotiations stalled,” she handed him a file in lieu of hello and he nodded, unable to speak without declaring his undying love.

“Rittenhouse wants you to grovel for the 30 share of something,” she rolled her eyes.

“Concrete futures,” he added.

“Right, whatever that means,” she smiled. “Robert wants to sit down with you and Louis at lunch. I had Gretchen order from that place he likes with the giant sandwiches.”

“Donna,” he stopped her with a gentle hand on his arm.

“Harvey,” she looked anywhere but at him, “not here.”

“OK,” he swallowed.

“My place, tonight.”

He nodded, not wanting this to end, but unsure how it wouldn’t.

“Did you tell Gretchen to get me…”

“The Rueben? Of course I did,” she smiled and headed back to her office.

The day was interminable. Harvey tried to focus on work, getting Robert situated and meeting his righthand woman, Samantha Wheeler. He handled the concrete futures for Rittenhouse and sent a text to Mike thanking him again for the trip. Mostly though, he watched Donna.

The all-glass aesthetic of the now Zane Specter Litt allowed for subtle observation and what Harvey observed was a fully functioning COO. Donna was happy and energetic and seemingly unaffected. He found himself glancing over and over at her bare left hand, wishing the diamond was still there.

Just as he was ready to wrap up and ask her if she wanted to head home, Jim Reynolds popped into his office with a crisis. Donna texted that she was going home and instructed him to bring dinner when he finally got free.

Harvey solved Jim’s crisis and then the man wanted a drink and asked after Jessica, so it was close to 9pm when Harvey arrived at Donna’s with a bag of high-end Italian food.

“Did you already eat?” he asked sheepishly and she shook her head.

“No, haven’t been particularly hungry,” she admitted, her mask of unaffectedness slipping. “Come in.”

Harvey made his way into the apartment and brought the bag of food to the dining table, when he turned back Donna was right there.

“Hi,” he said, his voice soft and his eyes warm.

“Hi,” she was wringing her hands in front of her.

“Can I…?” he reached a hand out to hers, unusually unsure of himself.

“Yeah,” she released one of her hands to his and he quickly laced their fingers together, anchored her to him and for the first time since Monday morning in bed together, he felt calm again.

“This ok?” he stepped closer and she was flooded with his warmth, the smell of him all around her again, she hadn’t realized how much she missed it.

“Yeah,” she tilted her chin up, not initiating a kiss, but not shutting one down either.

Harvey put his lips on hers, just barely there and asked a third time, “this?”

“Harvey….” she laughed now and he kissed her, his tongue finding hers as he used their joined hands to pull her even closer.

The kiss was long and slow and deep and Donna, who was barefoot, had to lean up on her toes to keep them connected.

When they finally separated for air, Donna muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘thank god’.

“You hungry?” he asked what seemed like an innocent question with a less than innocent look on his face.

Donna snapped and her lips were on his neck as her fingers worked his coat and tie off and his buttons free. Harvey’s hands curled around her hips, pulling her close enough to feel her heat.

“Here?” he groaned as he scoped out the dining table behind him.

“Bed,” she corrected as she tried to walk and kiss at the same time until Harvey started laughing and picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

Harvey had not set foot in this room ever. The other time was before Donna renovated and her old room was much smaller. This room, for as much as Harvey could notice in his current state, was very today Donna, classy and sleek and really sexy.

“Like what you did with the place,” he grinned as she pushed his shirt off.

“You want to discuss interior design?” she chuckled as she pulled her top off over her head.

“Not really, no,” he swallowed to find that flowy top she was wearing was all that was standing between him and her breasts.

“Harvey,” she said when he seemed frozen, his eyes quickly flicking up to hers with a hint of embarrassment.

“Sorry,” he reached out and placed his warm hand over her heart.

“We’re wearing too many pants,” she nipped at his ear and his laughter rumbled through him.

“We should be wearing considerably fewer pants,” he agreed and smoothed his hand from her chest to her side, down to her hip and then under the elastic waist of the flowy pants she had on.

Things escalated quickly from there, hands and mouths working in tandem until Harvey collapsed half on top of her in the middle of the bed.

“Well, that was effective,” he nuzzled her neck and she giggled.

“The reason I had my rule all those years, is I knew if I ever thought about the other time, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself,” Donna said quietly. “I had to quit you cold turkey.”

“And this recent relapse?” he leaned up to see the look on her face.

“Inevitable? Right?” she looked back.

“I never forgot about before,” he admitted.

“I didn’t either, I just locked it away,” she shrugged.

“I tried to, it snuck out from time to time.”

“I’m sorry,” she frowned.

“For what?”

“For giving you that ultimatum all those years ago,” she kissed his forehead.

“It was worth it; I needed you by my side and if we had dated you know I would have screwed it up back then.”

“And now?” she tensed under him.

“I’d like to think I have matured some,” he said quietly.

“You have, Harvey. You have made huge steps in your personal life, dealing with Mike’s imprisonment and Jessica’s departure, reconnecting with your mom, going to therapy,” the last word a little bitter on her tongue as she thought of Paula.

“Thanks,” her praise always hit harder than anyone else’s.

“So, are we? Dating?” she asked.

“Well, technically we’re married,” he smiled against her neck.

“I looked today at the reasons for an annulment,” she sighed and he tensed this time.

“I know them,” he said.

“None of them really fit, we are of legal age not married to anyone else or related to one another. We have not misrepresented ourselves and clearly have no physical incapacity or impotence issues,” she teased her knee along his groin.

“Damn straight,” he grunted.

“There was no coercion,” she tried to remember all the things she learned about annulments.

“We were drunk,” he said quietly. “We could claim unsound mind due to intoxication…if you want,” he said the last bit quickly and closed his eyes waiting for her to catch up.

“If I want?” she said the words as if she didn’t understand them.

“The other option is we don’t get an annulment,” he got bolder.

“Harvey…” he can’t read her tone it sounds like a mix of incredulity and humor.

“Hear me out,” he scooted up now, curling her into his chest, “New York does not have a hard and fast rule on time limits for annulment, we could give it a month. It’s not like we just met in Vegas, Donna.”

“A month?” she blinked up at him, her eyes wide and wary.

“If, in a month you still want to end the marriage I will file the paperwork that day,” he promised.

“And how would this month go?” she asked, not shutting him down yet.

“Well, if I had my way we would spend it right here, but we have to work. At work, it is work and after work we are here or my place, every night. We maybe go out, spend weekends doing regular things, together and on our own,” he laid out what seemed to be a very well thought out plan.

“You’ve been thinking about this,” she accused.

“Donna, we have spent years together in every way except the way we both clearly want, this isn’t the most surprising next step,” he curled their legs together.

“This isn’t,” she indicated the bed, “but marriage is different Harvey.”

“Look, Donna,” he shifted them so they were face to face and she could see the sincerity there, “I do not pretend to be any sort of expert on marriage, and I certainly have never held it in high regard, but with you it’s different.”

He had said those words to her once before; with her it is always different.

“So, we stay married for a month and reassess?” she reiterates his proposal.

“Yes, and if after a week, the abundance of orgasms is not enough and you want to pull the rip cord, it is your call,” he smiled and she shook her head at his ridiculousness.

“Right now, you have to feed me before anything else.”

“Stay here, I’ll grab the food,” he hopped out of the bed.

“Harvey, we cannot eat pasta in bed,” she laughed. “Could we possibly be married and still keep our own places?”

Donna slid out of bed and found her clothes.

“That would really cut down on the abundance of orgasms,” he said as he put his boxers and unbuttoned shirt on.

“Is that the plural grouping for orgasms? Like a gaggle of geese or a parliament of owls?” she asked as she caught his hand and pulled him close enough for a kiss.

“Donna,” the levity in his voice gone, “I realize we have done things a little out of order, but…I love you.”

“I know, Harvey,” she pulled him close, kissed his chin, “I love you too.”

Marriage Week 1
The first week was a mix of sex and logistics. After 2 nights of switching back and forth between their places, they decided they would have more time together if they settled in one place and Harvey’s place made more sense based on location and amenities.

So, Donna packed a few bags of clothes and personal items and moved into Harvey’s place. She was worried about him handling her in his space 24/7, but they were still so tangled up in one another it never came up.

They had mutually agreed that no one at work was to know what was happening. Ray just gave them a raised brow after multiple mornings of riding in together, but never said a word.

On the 4th night at Harvey’s, Donna was curled up on the couch reading when she finally heard from Rachel. The two had shared texts and Rachel sent photos of Seattle as they settled in after their brief honeymoon.

“Hey, Rach,” Donna answered the Facetime call with a smile.

“Hey, how are you? Sorry it has taken me so long to call. Is now a good time?”

“Yeah,” Donna smiled sadly at her friend. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too, luckily I have been so busy, I haven’t had a chance to sit down and cry yet.”

Donna nodded, she had been pretty preoccupied herself.

“Wait? Where are you?” Rachel looked at the fireplace behind Donna.

“I’m at Harvey’s, we’re finishing up some work,” Donna lied quickly and felt a little guilty.

“Is he there? I can grab Mike,” Rachel turned.

“He, umm, just ran out to grab me some wine, said I earned it,” the lies kept coming. Harvey was actually out at a client meeting, but it wouldn’t make sense that she was there by herself.

“That was nice of him, are you guys getting along better? Did Vegas smooth some things out?” Rachel asked concerned for her friend.

“Yeah, Rachel, Vegas helped a lot,” Donna smiled and then changed the topic to the Ross’ house hunt in Seattle.

At the end of the first week, Louis came to Harvey to discuss his meeting with the fertility doctor. Donna hardly ever listened to Harvey’s meetings anymore, but this one was intriguing as Harvey spun some tale about being turned on by tomatoes.

Despite the ridiculousness of it all, Donna was touched by how kind Harvey was to Louis in his time of need but couldn’t help calling him out.

“Was it true about the tomatoes?” she whispered.

“I think we both know that it’s not, just like we both know it’s really strawberries and whipped cream,” his voice low and rumbly turned her cheeks a little pink.

“Harvey…” she warned.

“What?” he played coy.

“It’s just this is a place of business, and anyone could overhear and misunderstand that that was 13 years ago,” she grinned thinking of her younger brave self.

“Really? It feels more like twelve and a half,” he looked so young and goofy, she could see him back then again.

“Have Ray make a stop at the market on the way home, and it could be tonight too,” she winked and turned to leave to find Alex Williams outside the office.

“What are you two up to?” he asked Harvey.

“Always something with us,” Harvey shrugged.

Week 2
Donna settled into Harvey’s place pretty easily. After working so closely for so long, she knew him and he wasn’t that different at home than he was at work. Harvey had a precision to everything he did from managing his clients, to stocking his kitchen, to keeping things tidy that Donna appreciated.

That did not mean she didn’t try to subtly add some life to the otherwise austere condo. A splash of color from a throw pillow on the sofa, a couple of plants to keep the cactus company and some softer shades in the closet.

Her big concern was the bathroom, they both had a lot of stuff, apparently looking good required things. The bathroom was big though and there were empty drawers Donna found with ease.

“What’s that?” Harvey came up behind her as she held a ponytail holder in her hand.

“I don’t know, it’s not mine,” she shrugged and held it up. “I was going to use that drawer.”

Harvey looked at the open drawer and his eyes got dark.

“Sorry, Paula left some things here, I thought she took everything,” he took the elastic from her and tossed it in the trash, not worth reaching out to the woman for something so small.

Donna just nodded, she knew Harvey had tried to make that relationship work, and it shouldn’t hurt the way it does, but she’s only human.

“Donna,” he got her attention back, “I fucked up with Paula. I wanted to prove to myself that I could have a normal relationship. She seemed safe, she already knew about my issues, and she seemed willing to take what I had to give her.”

Donna looked at him confused.

“I was willing to give her part of me, because you have always had the majority of me. She figured it out pretty quickly though and well, you know the rest.”

“I’m sorry I kissed you,” Donna leaned back against the vanity, “that time, not all the other times.”

He smiled at her clarification.

“Did you mean what you said after?” he looked down at the floor.

“No, Harvey,” she shook her head. “Of course, I felt something, the thing I thought was there was still there and I think I realized then it would always be there. That’s why when you got mad and Paula got mad; I had to leave. I couldn’t imagine a world where you didn’t fight for me, that you didn’t want me,” Donna took a deep breath trying not to cry.

“I have wanted you since the night we met, you may recall I was ready to show you just how much that night,” he rolled his eyes.

“Oh, I remember,” she smiled now and his stomach stopped its roiling.

“I just never thought I was good enough for you. You deserved someone better adjusted than me, more mature, less obsessed with work and…”

“Himself?” she smirked now and he gaped at her.

“Excuse, me?” he moved closer now, hoping the worst of the bad memories were past.

She let him in, rested her hands on his chest and chuckled.

“You were pretty self-obsessed back then,” she pointed out.

“Past tense?” he looked her in the eye and she nodded.

“Past tense,” she kissed him softly.

“Did we just have our biggest emotional conversation in the bathroom?” Harvey kissed her once more.

“Your fault for not checking that your last roommate took everything when she left.”

“You are not my roommate, Donna, you are my wife,” he smiled at her now and she melted a little.

“Well, your wife needs this drawer,” she pointed.

“All yours. I like having your stuff here,” he leaned against the wall in a very distracting way as she stocked the drawer with lotion and make-up and hair stuff that she had been ferrying back and forth from the bedroom every day.

“Do we have any other big topics of discussion for the bathroom?” Harvey grinned.

“I think you and Robert need to get it together about Alex and Samantha,” she found his eyes in the reflection of the glass and saw his shoulders slump.

“I know. Can I tell you something?”

“That is apparently what the bathroom is for,” she chuckled.

“I don’t want to be managing partner,” he sighed.

“I know.”

“You do?”

“Of course I do, Harvey. I know how much you love the work and hate the bureaucracy. You want to close, it’s what you do,” Donna finished unloading her stuff and closed the drawer, turned to give him her full attention.

“You know me so well,” he smiled at her and came close, curled a hand around her jaw and pulled her into a kiss.

“Better than your old therapist?” she snarked when the kiss ended.

Harvey’s phone rang and broke the moment, and Donna went to turn away.

“Yes, Donna,” he answered her seriously before taking the call.

A couple nights later, Harvey came home late, Donna was on the couch a half-eaten salad on the coffee table and a book in her hand.

“What smells so good?” he said by way of greeting as he smiled at her all snuggled into her evening.

“I made cookies,” she pointed her chin towards the island where a cooling rack he did not think he owned held a couple dozen cookies.

“You did?” he asked.

“Yes, I did,” she looked at him funny.

“You can’t cook,” he said bluntly.

“Cooking and baking are 2 different things. Your dinner is in the fridge; it was bought at the deli around the corner. The cookies I made with love,” she stood up and he took in her ensemble.

“You look good in that,” he grinned at the Harvard hoodie that skimmed her thighs.

“It’s cozy,” she shrugged, her clean face and ponytail making her look much younger.

“You could be a young law student, and I could be Professor Specter,” he looked her up and down as he went for the sandwich in the fridge.

“Eat your dinner, gramps,” she hip checked him on her way to refill her water.

“Hey, I am only 11 months older than you,” he reminded her.

“Don’t remind me, we are getting old,” she leaned over and stole a potato chip from the bag he had opened.

“I don’t feel old,” he said.

“You don’t look old,” she ran a hand along his thigh and felt the muscle jump.

“Are you hitting on me, Mrs. Specter?” he grinned as Donna froze.

“What?” he looked at her again.

“You called me Mrs. Specter,” she gaped.

“You are,” he shrugged and took another bite of his sandwich.

“What if I want to keep my name?” she sat next to him, asking seriously.

“That’s fine, but here with me, you are Mrs. Specter. Or Mrs. Paulsen-Specter, I kind of like the sound of that, our names linked,” he reached over and hooked her pinky with his.

Donna kissed his cheek and then packed some of the cookies in a reusable container for Louis and Robert and the rest in a tin for them, leaving two on the rack for when Harvey finished eating.

“It is so weird to be married and not have told my parents,” Donna leaned on the counter.

“I’m not sure I want feedback on our situation from your dad,” he winced.

“It’s just this monumental thing happened and my mother doesn’t know.”

“Speaking of mothers, mine is going to be in town this weekend. Would you like to meet her?” he seemed shy about it.

“As your wife?”

“As the woman I love,” he corrected, “we don’t need to put titles on it.”

Donna’s stomach still swooped when he said the l word.

“Of course I would like to meet your mom, Harvey. I am so happy that the two of you are getting closer,” she smiled.

“Thanks to you.”

“I might have done the pushing, but you put in the emotional work.”

“So, can I have a cookie?” he grinned.

“Yes, you may,” she handed him a perfectly golden snickerdoodle.

He bit it like it might bite back and she laughed. Waving her hand at him to get on with it.

“Mmmmm, this is good,” he mumbled around the soft cinnamon crumbs.

“Told you so,” she lifted her chin in victory.

“Really good, delicious even,” he tugged her close and nibbled at her fingers, “not as delicious as you though.”

“Dork,” she teased but kissed him, tiny grains of sugar still on his lips.

Week 3
By week 3 of the Specter union, Harvey was no longer managing partner and Samantha and Alex both had their name on the wall.

“That woman of yours is something else,” Robert Zane chuckled as he entered Harvey’s office with a bottle of Scotch.

Harvey tilted his head in confusion.

“Red, she could single handedly run this place without any of us,” Robert clarified as Harvey stood and got glasses and a handle on his composure.

“Why did you call her my woman?” Harvey asked, not angry, but confused.

“Oh, come on, I know there is nothing between you, but you have been a non-couple couple for as long as I have known your name,” Robert shrugged and Harvey wanted to correct him.

Harvey wanted to scream from the rooftops that Donna Paulsen was actually his wife now, but for the time being he was relieved Robert hadn’t caught them in the Executive Kitchen or anything.

“Donna is quite something,” Harvey grinned as his eyes met the woman in question.

“Are you two drinking to me?” she asked as she took a third glass from the tray on the windowsill.

“I think we are actually supposed to be drinking to Louis,” Harvey cringed slightly.

“Guys, he is ready for this and if he isn’t just remember, I’m the Louis whisperer,” she whispered the end.

“Holy shit, you’re the real managing partner,” Harvey accused.

“Told you,” Robert slapped his knee.

Donna took the chair next to Robert and crossed her legs, Harvey trying very hard to keep his eyes up near her eyes.

“I’m not not saying that, but I really think he is ready and you two have other strengths we need you focused on. I am going through Louis’ clients tomorrow, I will spread them out, talk to any that need some hand holding,” she mused as she sipped her whiskey.

“I want McKernon back,” Harvey noted.

“Of course, Dominic has already called.”

“Maybe Samantha could take Esther,” Harvey offered, Esther was a big fish, and one Harvey did not need hanging around.

Donna quirked her lips and nodded.

“Harvey doesn’t know enough about potholders,” she smoothed out her skirt.

“Or gluten,” Harvey added with a smile.

“I’m not sure Samantha does either, but she knows powerful women and will happily take a client that big,” Robert nodded.

“I think Alex is right for Kessler Furniture. Louis is worried about Thomas though, they go way back, so I’ll pay him a visit tomorrow,” Donna added.

“Good idea, we could drop…” Harvey stopped himself when Donna’s eyes widened ever so slightly, “the meeting we have with Teddy,” he course corrected.

“Sounds like you two have this under control. Laura made chicken marsala for some unknown reason, so I am heading home,” Robert stood and took his Scotch, leaving the empty glass.

“Give Laura our best,” Donna smiled and waited until Robert’s footsteps were far enough away.

“Careful there, Harvey, you almost outed us,” Donna teased.

“I know, sorry, I am exhausted, my wife had me up very late last night.”

“Poor baby, maybe your wife should sleep at her place tonight so you can get your beauty rest,” she tipped back the end of her Scotch and stood up, leaning on Harvey’s desk just enough to show off her cleavage.

“Let’s not go to extremes or anything,” Harvey stood too and leaned across, they were close enough to kiss.

“You ready?” she looked at his messy desk.

“Now that I am not managing partner, can I have Gretchen back?” he asked as he tried to organize some files and Donna reached over to help.

“I’ll consider it,” she said.

“Come on, being married to the COO should have some perks, right?” he winked.

“You are making take out on my couch sound better and better, buddy,” she snorted.

“Being married to Donna Paulsen is nothing but perks at home, just looking for a little carry over…” he smoothed his hand along the desk.

“Let me talk to Louis, he is a little freaked out about well, everything,” Donna sighed.

“I’ll be patient,” Harvey relented.

“Never have before, but there is a first time for everything,” she grinned at him.

“How can I entice you back to my place tonight?” he lowered his eyes and the temperature in the room went up.

“Well, it is where the book I am currently reading is,” she offered.

“I have a couple things in mind more stimulating than reading…”

“Dork,” she laughed at him. “Let’s go, this will all still be here in the morning.”

Donna met with Thomas Kessler the next day and as always charmed him into considering Alex as his new counsel. He agreed to come in later in the week and meet with him and thanked Donna for her visit.

Donna got Gretchen back for Harvey and tried to melt the ice between Samantha and Katrina. The firm was actually functioning well considering all the people they had lost.

Harvey hadn’t been this happy at work since well, since Donna left his desk to go work for Louis. Ever since then there was a frisson of tension between them professionally, he wanted to keep her close and she wanted to spread her wings.

Maybe it was because they were together now, but it felt like the old days at work.

“Did they have an entire conversation without using words?” Samantha asked Louis in a partners meeting.

“Oh yeah, you’ll get used to them, they share a brain or something,” Louis laughed.

“Fascinating,” Samantha observed as Donna and Harvey kept communicating wordlessly.

They were still going over the proposed contract as they headed back to Donna’s office, both of them surprised to find one Thomas Kessler there with flowers.

“Thomas, hi,” Donna smiled. “We just finished a partners meeting, Alex will be ready for you in a moment.”

“I’m early,” he admitted. “I wanted to stop by and bring you these, thank you for making the effort to come by in person the other day.”

“You certainly didn’t have to do that, but they are lovely,” Donna smiled and took the bouquet, the two of them going on as if Harvey was not standing right there.

“Well, I should get going, but I am sure I will be seeing you again soon,” he smiled at Donna. “Harvey, good to see you,” he added as if he just noticed Harvey.

“Alex is just two doors down,” Donna smiled. “Thank you for the flowers.”

Thomas just nodded shyly and left.

“What the hell was that?” Harvey said less quietly than he really should have.

“Harvey,” Donna warned.

“You’re…” Harvey was about to say married and realized no one else knew that fact except some clerk in Las Vegas and a wedding chapel officiant they will never see again.

“He doesn’t know that,” Donna said quietly.

“Say the word and I take out an ad in the Times,” Harvey steps close, gets choked by the perfume of the flowers which were covering up the preferred scent of his wife.

The thing is, Harvey knows Thomas, he’s a good guy: smart, wealthy, kind and seemingly normal. Thomas could be the perfect man for Donna; he has to nip this thing in the bud right now.

“One week from tomorrow,” Donna says quietly.

“What?”

“If we still want to be that,” she whispers as the office is busy outside her open door, “one week from tomorrow we can discuss how the hell we are going to explain this to people.”

Harvey didn’t want to spook her, but he didn’t need one more week. He hadn’t needed the previous 3 weeks. He knew the moment he led her to that dusty little chapel that he wanted nothing more than to be with Donna forever.

“Well, can we agree we aren’t going on any dates between now and then?” he tilted his chin towards the flowers, and she just rolled her eyes.

Week 4
Scottie showed up outside the firm on day 25 of the Specter marriage. Harvey suspected it was professional sabotage, but Donna had her own thoughts.

“I need to know why she is sniffing around,” Harvey said as they walked the halls.

“You don’t think it is the normal reason she is always sniffing around?” she asked as she looked him up and down.

Harvey stopped walking and Donna kept going not realizing he wasn’t beside her for a few paces. Donna looked back and he looked sad.

“It hasn’t been that for a while,” he said when she walked back to where he stopped.

“For you maybe,” Donna reached out and put her hand on his bicep, tense through his suit.

Harvey just nodded.

“I can handle it if it’s that, but I don’t want her to blindside us here, can you dig into it?”

“Of course,” Donna agreed and they headed to different meetings.

The next day Samantha let on she was facing a challenge and that challenge was Dana Scott. It took another couple days for Scottie to call Donna.

“Hello,” Donna answered her cell as she put groceries away.

“Donna, it’s Scottie,” she said quietly as Harvey came into the living room and Donna held a finger to her lips encouraging his silence.

“Hi, Scottie,” she said and Harvey tilted his head curiously, “what can I do for you?”

Scottie laid out the problem she was in, the implications if Samantha kept pressing.

“I’m not sure what you’re asking me to do?” Donna sympathized but had no idea what the end goal was.

“I need Harvey to step in, if he doesn’t get Samantha to back off, I’m in real trouble.”

“So, why come to me?” Donna asked again.

“Donna,” Scottie sighed, “I think we both know that no one has more sway over him than you. And you have for a long time.”

“Why’d you do it, Scottie?” Donna needed to know what she was fighting for.

“Innocent people were going to lose their jobs, Donna.”

“And he’d have done the same thing,” she nodded even though Scottie couldn’t see it, she looked up and saw the concern on Harvey’s face.

“OK, I’ll talk to him, but on one condition,” she said as she looked right at him, “you stay clear of our firm from now on.”

“From the firm or from Harvey?” Scottie asked.

“I meant what I said,” Donna stood her ground

“OK. Thank you, Donna,” Scottie said sincerely and hung up.

“What’s going on?” her husband asked.

Donna told him the whole story as she finished putting the groceries away, rinsing some grapes and snacking on them.

“She screwed up, why should I betray my partner for her?” Harvey was confused.

“She was protecting people’s jobs; you would’ve done the same thing and I am betting so would Samantha.”

“Samantha and I just got on better terms after the named partner thing,” he sighed.

“You can win her over,” Donna grinned.

“Maybe, but this is it, Scottie has leveraged whatever we had back then for the last time,” he stood right in front of her and curled his hands around her elbows, looked down at her face with a soft smile. “Thank you, for once again being a good man for me.”

“You’re a good man all on your own, Harvey, you just get stubborn sometimes and need someone to gently guide you,” she leaned up on her bare feet and kissed him quickly before escaping to finish her chore. “And you heard me, I asked her to leave us alone, sort of.”

“She’ll see my ad in the Times when you let me announce it to the world. And since you put the groceries away, I will cook,” he poked in the fridge and took out the salmon she bought.

“You’re just offering because I’m bad at it,” she swatted him with the reusable grocery bag, but didn’t challenge his desire to announce their unorthodox wedding.

“That’s not entirely true, I am offering because I want to make a healthy dinner for my beautiful wife,” he added broccoli and spinach to the counter.

“OK, husband,” she might never get over that, “have at it, I am actually pretty hungry.”

“Go have a drink, I’ll make it quick.”

Dinner was delicious and at a reasonable time. It was something Donna had noticed the past few weeks and as they lounged in bed later that night she asked.

“Are you skipping work to hang out with me at night?” she spoke right into Harvey’s ear as he was blanketed over her with no indication he was planning to move.

“Hmmm? No,” he said a little sleepy.

“You never left the office early enough to actually cook dinner before,” she pointed out.

“Never had any reason to,” he shrugged. “I would rather stay late at work and get to be with you than come home early and be alone. Now I get to come home with you, so I do.”

“You kept me late all those nights so we could be together?” she asked and he froze, worried she would be mad. “That’s kind of sweet.”

“It wasn’t just that, way back I really did need to work all those hours to make Senior Partner, but now I can spend more time at home, with my seriously hot wife,” he sounded less sleepy and Donna shivered.

“Cold?” he looked up with a twinkle in his eye.

“You know I’m not,” she said as she subtly shifted under him so he could feel her heat.

“How could you possibly think I would stay late at work, when I could be here loving you?” he smiled as he kissed her.

Harvey got Scottie out of her mess and when she came by to settle things with Samantha, she stopped by Donna’s office.

“Scottie, hey,” Donna looked up and smiled.

“It’s over, thank you,” Scottie said.

“You should be thanking Harvey,” Donna said simply.

“I will and then I promise, I will stay away…”

“You know that wasn’t…”

“Donna, it’s fine. I hope he finally sees what everyone else sees,” Scottie tapped the door frame and turned away.

Donna wanted to yell after her and tell her that he had seen it and he married her, but she could read it in the Times. She didn’t ask Harvey what Scottie said, and he didn’t tell her and it wasn’t a problem, because she had no doubt that she had married the most loving faithful honest man alive.

Decision Day
Harvey woke up alone. It was the first time in a month that Donna was not at least in the condo somewhere if not in bed in his arms.

He thought of that first morning in Vegas when he woke to find her tangled around him. Maybe that was the moment he wanted to marry her, but if he was really honest it was a lot longer ago than that.

It was strange that after only a month in the same space, he somehow knew Donna was not there, her essence was gone. For a moment he panicked, that she was really gone and he hopped out of bed and flung open a closet and let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he saw her clothes still there.

He threw on his pajamas and headed to the kitchen, where he smelled coffee and found a note under the French press, a café au lait colored ring on the edge of the paper.

H-
Gone to Davidson & Leach for the contract thing. I didn’t forget what today is. Your office, 5pm.
-D

She drew a little heart with the loop of her D, but the note left him a little cold. If she wanted to meet in the office, it was probably bad news. Maybe she just wanted to annul the marriage and stay together, let the wedding come later. He refused to think the woman who he had spent the past month loving like his life literally depended on it was ready to end things entirely.

He went through the motions of getting dressed and getting into work. Gretchen was back outside his office, a gift from Donna for making Louis Managing Partner, and she had a pile of contracts for him to sign.

While he worked on those, he drew up the annulment paperwork, because he had promised Donna he would if that was what she wanted and he was a man of his word.

He also knew that if that was what she wanted, he would be too heartbroken to do the task, he would just want it over.

Around 2:00 pm Harvey’s phone rang and he headed down to see Louis, when he returned almost an hour later, Gretchen was sitting in front of his desk.

“Everything OK?” he asked her as he unbuttoned his coat and sat down, she had an odd look on her face.

“Mr. Matthews called and needed his contract right away, so I came in to find it among all the stuff on your desk and I found this,” she handed over the annulment filing.

“I’m sorry you saw that, I should have put it somewhere more private,” he frowned.

“Harvey, what’s going on?” the older woman looked at him with compassion.

“Mike and Rachel sent us to Vegas, the night of their wedding, as a thank you. We were drunk and got married,” Harvey said quietly as Gretchen nodded as if that all made perfect sense.

“Rachel and Mike’s wedding was weeks ago,” Gretchen pointed out.

“It’s been a month. We agreed to be married for a month and if after that month we didn’t want to be married I would file the paperwork,” he reached for the papers she still held and she handed them over.

“And you want to end it?” Gretchen was impossibly confused.

“No,” he said as if she had slapped him, “but if she does I need to be ready,” he admitted.

“Oh, Harvey. For two such sophisticated intelligent people, you sure are idiots,” she rolled her eyes.

“Excuse me,” he tried to give her the hard boss stare, but she just laughed and he frowned.

“Harvey, that woman loves you, has for some time if I’m not mistaken. Maybe not as long as you’ve loved her though.”

“Sometimes that isn’t enough,” he shared his biggest fear, not that Donna didn’t love him, but that she wasn’t willing to take this monumental risk with him.

Gretchen was wise to Harvey after all this time, she knew his tells and she knew his limited insecurities.

“Making a life together is hard and the two of you have had your walls up a long time. You have to know it is even harder for her, her life has been tied up in you for so long and every time she tried to push for more you shut her down…”

“It was her rule,” he grimaced.

“That she put in place to keep her safe and secure. I don’t know Donna the way you do, but I hazard to guess she did not grow up with money,” Gretchen asked without asking and Harvey nodded.

“I didn’t either if it matters,” he defended.

“But you have control over your job and for a long time over hers, she couldn’t put that at risk. It was never that she didn’t want to, it was that she was afraid to,” Gretchen said kindly.

Harvey thought back to the diner that day he asked her to come with him to the firm and then every moment they almost crossed a line and not too long ago when Donna did and then resigned. He remembered telling her she was in her job because he put her there and hated himself for that.

“I told her once that we had everything and she said I had everything. I thought she was talking about us, but she was talking about this,” he put his hands on his desk.

“You two have been hurting yourselves for too long. Talk to your wife Harvey and tear this damn thing up,” Gretchen stood and handed him the annulment papers.

“Thanks, Gretchen,” he smiled at the woman who came into their lives because of one of the many times Harvey almost blew everything up.

Gretchen just nodded and went back to her desk. Harvey attempted to work.

At 5:00 pm, Donna was stuck in a cab halfway back to the office. She was cursing herself for not asking for Ray as the cab was smelly and her phone was dead. Last night Harvey took her phone out of her hand and tossed it aside before ravaging her on the couch and then scooping up her boneless body and taking her to bed and she never plugged her phone in to charge.

Harvey stepped out of his office at 5:00 expecting Donna to come around the corner any second and Gretchen looked up at him with a small smile.

“Gretchen, you can go home. I am not pretending to do work anymore and when she gets here, well I have no idea what’s going to happen,” he admitted.

“I will happily go home, but Harvey you have nothing to worry about,” she started shutting down her computer.

Harvey just nodded and turned back looking at his watch. Donna was never late.

Donna was now really late. The only way she knew she was late was the clock on the cab driver’s dashboard, because her phone continued to stare back at her with a blank screen, reflecting the frown on her face.

She was at least a half mile from the office and debated getting out, she could probably walk faster, but she had dressed for Harvey today and her heels were sky high.

The cab driver could sense her stress, and he kept trying, in broken English, to assure her the traffic would clear soon.

Donna was never late, the fact that she was not here made Harvey nervous in two very different ways. Either she has decided she can’t face him to give him her answer or something bad happened.

Harvey knew the blowhards involved in the Davidson & Leach merger, but if she was still there she would’ve called. No one could spiral faster than Harvey Specter and at 6:00 pm he was about to start calling hospitals.

“Harvey!” he heard her voice and looked up and saw her moving towards him quickly.

“Thank God,” he muttered and stood, no longer worried about her answer about their marriage, just so happy to see her.

She made it to the doorway of his office and bent over hands on her knees breathing heavily.

“Donna,” he moved towards her and she held up a finger to ask for a second to catch her breath and he stepped back to give her space.

“OK,” she stood up straight. “I am so sorry, stuck in a cab, big accident on Madison, phone dead,” she answered in short bursts, her chest still heaving.

“It’s OK,” he said gently, “I’m just glad you are here.”

“Harvey, what are we doing?” she asked her face a mask of sadness and confusion.

“You want to end it,” he nodded.

“What? No!” she shook her head. “What are we doing setting deadlines on our life?”

“Donna?” he took a step closer. “What are you saying? Be very clear.”

“I’m saying, whether I realized it or not, I wanted to marry you from the moment I met you,” she opened her bag and took out a small drawstring bag and turned their rings out into her hand. “I want to wear these. Every day. As long as we both shall live.”

He cupped his hand over hers with the rings between them and used his other hand to pull her close, kissing her soundly.

“So, yes?” she asked when they broke apart, both needing air.

“Yes, Donna. I want this, every little moment we have had for the past month. I want more. I want…” he was afraid to use the word that broke them once before, but he was brave. “I want everything.”

She understood the significance of his word choice and just nodded, tears glistening in her eyes.

“I think maybe we can have that, both of us.”

“Can I?” he took her ring from her hand and held it up and she nodded again.

“Donna Roberta Paulsen, will you continue to be my wife for as long as we both shall live?”

“Yes, Harvey, yes,” she nodded as he slipped the ring onto her shaking hand.

“Harvey Reginald Specter, will you continue to be my husband for as long as we both shall live?” she held the platinum band between her fingers and melted a little when Harvey hiccupped back his emotions.

“I will,” he choked out and blinked back tears as she put his ring back on his hand.

The night they got married was fuzzy for both of them, but this right here was the perfect moment. In this place, where they spent so much time getting to really know one another, falling in love over and over across years, with the clearest understanding that there was no one else on the planet more perfectly picked for them.

“Can I kiss you now?” she wrinkled her nose and he smirked at her. She kissed the smirk away.

“This deserves a celebration, anywhere you want to go,” Harvey broke the kiss but barely stepped back his breath warm on her face.

“Harvey, I am sweaty and disheveled from getting back here, let’s just go home,” she ran her thumb along his cheek.

“Babe, you look beautiful and I want to take you out with that ring on your hand,” he smiled so wide she could see his molars, and she shook her head at his ridiculousness.

“OK, but I am warning you, I am hungry. Davidson & Leach does not spend their billions on lunches,” she laughed.

“Anything you want, my dear wife,” he kissed the knuckles of her left hand. “First things first though…”

Harvey let go of her just long enough to go to his desk and grab his phone and the papers from his desk drawer.

“We need to get rid of this,” he flapped them.

Donna snatched them out of his hand.

“You drew up the annulment?” she tilted her head at him.

“I promised you I would file it if you wanted me too and I figured I would be too heartbroken to do it after you told me you didn’t want to be married.”

“You thought that was my answer?”

“I didn’t know,” he shrugged. “I was afraid. Everything has been wonderful, but we didn’t exactly go about things in a normal way.”

“Oh Harvey,” she pulled him close, wrinkling the unnecessary papers in the process, “I’m not leaving you.”

“Good,” was all he said as she felt him let out a deep breath.

“Come on, I can shred these on the way out,” she curled one arm around one of his and leaned close.

They stopped at Gretchen’s desk and together they fed the annulment papers through the shredder, making sure every scrap of paper was destroyed.

“How are we going to tell people?” Donna asked as they walked down the hall towards the elevators.

“Well, Gretchen already knows…” Harvey admitted.

“Of course she does, secretaries are always the first to figure these things out,” she chuckled.

“I say we just show up together with our rings on and let everyone draw their own conclusions,” he shrugged.

Ray was their first guinea pig. He was waiting downstairs for them and once again his eyebrows went up when the streetlight hit Donna’s ring, but he just chuckled and held the door.

“Mrs. Specter, I presume,” he winked at her and she winked back.

Ray clapped a hand on Harvey’s shoulder and that was that, they told someone. Harvey raised the privacy screen in the car and Donna looked at him funny.

“We are not making out in this car,” she laughed.

“Fine,” he pouted. “I thought we could call Mike and Rachel. They should be aware of what they set in motion.”

“My phone is dead; do you know how to Facetime?” she teased.

“No,” he admitted easily, “but you know my passcode,” he handed over the device.

Donna facetimed Mike, figuring Rachel would panic if she saw an incoming call from Harvey.

“Hey man, what’s up?” Mike said his eyes down on a file.

“Not a man,” Donna teased.

“Donna, hey, I thought it was Harvey,” he smiled at her.

“It’s both of us actually,” Harvey leaned in.

“Is Rachel around?” Donna asked.

“Yeah, hold on I’ll get her. Did it happen? Is this what I think it is?” Mike stood up, his smile wide.

“I do not think you could have possibly thought this up,” Donna laughed.

Mike walked to Rachel’s office with the phone, giving them a glimpse of their new office in Seattle, it was small but warm and pretty busy for just having got off the ground.

“OK, we’re both here,” Mike said as he sat on the windowsill behind Rachel and handed her the phone.

“Hey, guys,” Rachel smiled.

“We wanted to thank you again for Las Vegas,” Harvey said.

“You already did, the dining set I always wanted for our new house was more than enough,” Rachel smiled.

“We owe you a lot more than furniture. We haven’t told you what actually happened in Vegas.”

“I thought what happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas,” Mike teased.

“Not for us,” Donna smiled softly and turned to look at Harvey who turned back.

“So, you’re together? Finally?” Rachel beamed.

“We got married,” Donna held up her ring.

“What?!?!?” Mike hopped up to get a closer look.

“All the cool kids were doing it,” Harvey joked.

“You are kidding us, right?” Rachel shook her head.

“We’re not. It was very spontaneous and possibly gin-fueled,” Donna rolled her eyes.

“But it has been a month, and we have agreed that it is what we both want,” Harvey smiled.

“I don’t believe it, over a decade of pining and you just spontaneously get married,” Mike grinned.

“Why wait any longer? We waited long enough,” Harvey reasoned.

“I want all the details,” Rachel looked at Donna.

“Girl talk, soon, I promise,” Donna reached out like she could touch her friend.

“I on the other hand, want none of the details,” Mike cringed.

“Good, cuz that’s what you’re getting,” Harvey glared.

“We hoped that the trip would remind you both how much you care about each other, maybe even convince you to try being together. I had no idea how over the top you’d take it,” Rachel laughed.

“You booked us a suite with one bed!” Donna laughed.

“There really was only one bed?” Rachel turned to Mike who tried to look innocent.

“It all worked out, maybe not the most conventional way, but it worked out and we are very grateful,” Harvey said.

“I mean, who knows how long it would have taken us to figure it out on our own,” Donna added.

“Another decade,” Mike answered, “at least.”

Harvey felt the car slow to a stop.

“We have to go, but we wanted you to be the first to know. Well, the third…”

“Who else knows?” Rachel asked.

“Gretchen and Ray,” Harvey admitted.

“Figures, Harvey’s emotional support people know,” Mike teased and Harvey made a face at him.

“Come visit us!” Rachel implored.

“I’ll look at our calendars,” Donna promised.

“Last trip you got married, maybe this trip you can make a baby!” Mike joked and Donna and Harvey looked horrified.

“Remind me to get them a hotel room,” Rachel added to the teasing.

“We are hanging up now,” Harvey ended the call and looked at Donna who just busted out laughing.

“I think we still have a few things to discuss, husband,” she patted his hand before they exited the car.

A little over a year later…
“Gretchen, I need the Foster file when you have a chance,” Harvey said as he came back from the conference room.

“On it,” she nodded, “and Mrs. Specter is in your office.”

It had become a joke between them, when Donna was there for work things she was Donna, but when it was personal she was Mrs. Specter.

The office took the news of the union between Donna and Harvey with a variety of responses from Louis’ over dramatics, to Alex’s genuine happiness for his old friends, to Samantha cackling that she knew they were doing it all along. Robert threw them a lovely reception where their families came together for the first time and that was it. No big wedding, no announcement in the Times (much to Harvey’s dismay) just a lovely party to celebrate what everyone had known all along.

“Hello, wife,” Harvey greeted Donna who was sitting in front of his desk.

“Hey,” she looked up and he frowned at the worried look on her face.

“What’s wrong?” he perched on the edge of his desk, his knee brushing hers.

“Remember how we went to Bermuda last month for our anniversary?” she worried her hands in her lap.

“Hard to forget actually, unlike our wedding,” he joked, they had come to terms with the unusual conditions of their wedding.

“We seem to do remarkable things on trips,” she huffed out a laugh, and he looked at her confused as she said, “I’m pregnant.”

The End